


Turning the Tides

by Orion6



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-15
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-05-23 17:57:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14939118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orion6/pseuds/Orion6
Summary: Before the events of season 6 of Voltron. Zarcon's second in command of the Galra Navy, Admiral Pipes, has created a last ditch effort to bring the Galra Empire back to its glory days. The paladins of Voltron race to defeat the mysterious Admiral before he succeeds in wiping out the universe.





	1. The Eclipse

Chapter 1  
The sun had risen above the horizon, its light cascading the surface of the grassy plane. A sea of brown grass flowing with the wind. the horizon dropped into a plateau of jagged rock hiding its dark blue, freezing ocean.  
It reminded Andrew of the Beaches in California. A place he used to frequently visit when before he was taken. He sighed, waking up from his daydream and back into the command bridge of the Galra Warship, Eclipse.   
Andrew had since grown older, with sleek, black hair, and a faded beard highlighting his facial movements, he was no longer the teenager on that beach. The Eclipse was accompanied by the Warships Dusk, and Dawn, as they slowly floated towards the brightly lit city. The bridge was busier than usual, With officers rushing with old files, data tapes, and other bits and pieces of information. Andrew paced slowly through the walkway down to the weapon consoles.   
“Do we have those readouts of the Cities defenses,” the Admiral asked, a low tone in his voice.  
The officer, caught off guard by the Admiral’s question, stuttered. “Um, yes sir. I mean the city has twenty anti-air cannons, three squadrons of mark v7 Altaen fighters, and um an old prototype Vex Altaen particle barrier.”  
Andrew eyes glistened as he admired the thought of a worthy opponent.  
“Very good, lieutenant, however, work on that stutter you seem to possess.”  
“Uh, of course Admiral.”  
The Admiral slightly grinned. “You may proceed. Inform me when they have launched their fighters.”  
“Yes, sir.”  
Andrew returned swiftly to his position. The Dusk and Dawn had begun to move into attack position, rising 45 degrees above the Eclipse. The Eclipse spewed out squadron after squadron of Galra ships, which raced towards the shimmering city.   
“All fighters, this is your Admiral, we will conquer this city, and then bring the Coalition terrorist to their knees,” Andrew stated, his voice being projected to every ship.  
His voice was powerful and did not falter in cadence. “Protocol Orion is now in effect, you have your assignments, now go.”  
Two squadrons broke away to protect the fleet, three squadrons moved into bombing formation, and the remaining fighters covered the bombers.  
And now, he watched as the cities cannon sparked to life, firing at the incoming fighters. Explosions detonating in the bright, blue sky. Altaen fighters blasted out of the city, charging towards the fleet.  
How predictable, Andrew thought, watching the battle unfold.  
***  
The sun had begun to set, and the battle comes to an end. The smoke from the city couldn’t be seen as the night swept through the valley. The purple glow of three Galra warships could be seen hovering over their fallen prey. They had won.  
Andrew walked through the city, a pair of new Galra sentries accompanying him. He barely glanced at his prize, the alien citizens were rounded up into the city square, surrounded by fear.  
He moved through a partially destroyed building and emerged on a second-floor balcony, so everyone could see him. He spoke.  
“Former Citizens of the Mighty Galra Empire. Terrorist to the throne, you are under our protection once more. Your treachery will be forgiven, but it must be punished. Communication and transportation off-world are restricted and curfews will be implemented.”  
Whispers spread through the crowd, talk of fear, and hopelessness. One Alien, in particular, stepped forward.  
“And what of the Homes you’ve destroyed, will you leave us to starve like before?”  
Andrew looked down onto him, he hadn’t considered that before. He thought for a moment, before coming up with a quick solution.  
“Shelter along with food and clean water will be reestablished, I will have my workers aide in the reconstruction of this city. I promise to keep the citizens of the new Galra empire well taken care of, unlike my former Emperor.”  
And with that, the strange admiral walked away in the building heading back to his warship. The crowd was left confused as the Galran soldiers allowed them to return to their city peacefully.  
***  
Over the next week, the city was rebuilt. Skyscraper by skyscraper, the Admiral’s soldiers rebuilt the city better than before. The defenses were upgraded and supplied with top of the line Galra fighters. The aqueducts in the city had to be completely redesigned, as the structure was about to collapse.  
Outside the city, three mine shafts were built, drilling to the heart of the planet. Citizens were hired to work in the tunnels, being paid with a new currency.   
Andrew smiled at the remarkable changes in the city, it was prosperous once again. Then in the distance, a small explosion could be seen, and smoke beginning to rise.  
Andrew sighed before turning to the communications directive.  
“Let me guess. The rebels,” He asked, annoyed.  
The Galran soldier looked up at him. “Yes, sir. It appears that the group codenamed Vaxen has attacked another food ration outpost we established recently.”  
“Send a squadron to investigate, see if they can find anything.”  
“Yes, sir.”  
The admiral left the bridge of the eclipse, his assistant waiting for him by the elevator. She was a native of the planet who was caught attempting to steal a bundle of food stamps. With no family, she was living on the streets. Andrew decided to give her a job as his aide.  
She smiled as he approached, and they both entered the elevator.  
“My lord, I have commanders of the Dawn and Dusk waiting for you in the conference room. As well as the supervisor of project Meteor as well. Unfortunately, commander Jayk of the Warship Constellation is busy.”  
“Thank you luck, But please, there is no need to address me as lord. Sir will be enough,” Andrew responded, chuckling slightly.  
He has never friendly to anyone but Luck, it was his way of being able to have fun, but still be intimidating to anyone else.  
“Luck, may I ask you something?”  
“Of course sir.”  
Andrew smiled, “Who is Vaxen?”  
Luck looked up in surprise, before regaining her composure. “Vaxen is the god of freedom. He was most known for at the war of the seas when he famously destroyed the entire fleet of ships that came to destroy our small village at the time. We were told that story as children.”  
The lift came to a stop, and the two walked out and down the corridor. Natives, sentries, and Galran officers walked by them. Andrew’s smile had vanished, replaced with the wrinkles of authority, Luck practically vanished behind him as they entered the conference room, guarded by two elites.  
The conference room was on the underside of the warship, the glass walls looked out over the city. The circular table held three commanders sat proudly, boosting with each other, but when the Admiral entered the room, they stood and saluted.  
He motioned for them to be seated, luck stood silently by the door. Andrew lapped around the room. Walking around his guest, staring out at the ocean, then the city, and finally the vast grass plains. He stood staring at it for a moment, then turned around. The supervisor of Project Meteor was tall and nimble, in a dark red suit. The other two commanders were relatively average. Tall and a muscular build.  
“Commanders of the fourth fleet, I have called you here today to discuss the future of the Galra Empire.”  
The commanders perked up, finally something that they didn’t know. For the past few meetings, the Admiral only told them things they didn’t care about, new trade routes installed, rebel movements, and so on.  
Andrew continued talking. “As we all know, the Voltron Coalition has crippled the empire. We must move on. Zarcon is dead, and with him, his entire empire. We cannot follow the rules of the old way. Instead, we must improve.”  
The commander of the Dawn Stood up, outraged. “And look where that’s gotten us. A group of rebels in that city has been a pain in our… side for doboshes, we should set an example, burndown apart of the city and leave it to-”  
“Enough!”  
The commander gulped, sitting back down. The Admiral, held his head in his hand, regaining his composure. Luck stared at him, anxious.  
“Our citizens need to trust us. Look up at the sky and see our ships, and cheer. Tyranny brings rebellion. Peace brings war. And I would rather fight an enemy, then fight a friend. These rebels are small in number and will dwindle, but we must be careful.”  
And with that, an image of the universe was displayed on the table. Most of it was green, representing the Coalition, a few planets and moons were purple, the last remaining Galra Empire. The fourth fleet was orange. It included six planets and an asteroid belt.   
“At the moment,” he continued on, Luck sighing in relief, “We have three warships. By the end of the month, we will have doubled our fleet, plus Project Meteor will be fully functional.”  
The supervisor looked up. “Yes Admiral. In fact, we will be well ahead of schedule before your standard earth month comes to pass.”  
“Thank you, Kalex. And that reminds me, I will speak to each of you personally after this meeting to secure your progress on the assignments I gave you.”  
The commander of the Dusk, with a claw mark on his mouth and nose, sat with his body leaned forward on the table, claiming dominance. “Why did you call us here. To tell us things we already know. Besides a few battle tactics and a loud voice, you aren’t much different than us.”  
Andrew stared at him for a moment. Falin had always had it out him, considering Falin had worked under Zarcon for six decades of loyalty, meanwhile Andrew came out of nowhere. No background, no military experience, just a human from Earth who managed to cheat the system.  
The Admiral glared at Falin and penetrated the anger that clouded him. He slowly leaned back in his seat, crossing his legs.  
“Voltron is on its way. Those probes I had set in place picked up rebel movement. The Altean Castle gives off a unique signature and moved within our sensors. Along with seventeen modified coalition Galra Warships.”  
The room went silent. Luck had never seen such popular figures, shaking and scared.  
“We should plunder the city and leave while we can,” Falin suggested.  
Valex glanced around nervously. “We could always use a test subject for Project Meteor.”  
The commander of the Dawn, Haxl, stared at the Admiral. He knew Andrew, saw his tactics at work. He saw a battleground as a blank canvas and turned it into his image. Haxl watched as the Admiral decided what to do.  
“We will defend this city.”


	2. Battle for Vaxen.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Voltron races to the rescue as the Admiral prepares for battle, and anything can happen.

Chapter 2  
The city was more alive than ever. Citizens and Galra officers working together, preparing for the invasion fleet to arrive. Most citizens were confused as to why one of the warships had left, but only the Admiral knew why.  
The large towers(which previously held the Altean Cannons) had been upgraded with the latest Galra Tech. The White paint complimented the purple glow of the cannons firing up. The wall around the city also illuminated, and the particle Barrier burst to life, the blue shield raising out of the wall and creating a magnificent dome around the city. Andrew knew that the shield and cannons were operated separately, which meant, he would have to direct both at the same time. Including the two Galra Warships, and the vast Galra fighter ships.  
Luck stood outside his room while he thought to himself.  
Andrew was sixteen at the time, had a group of friends and was getting ready to be in the space program. Then the Galra came, took him and his friend who was with him at the time. They experimented on both of them. Andrew was turned into a tool for the Galra. He was brilliant, and managed to claw his way to the Admiral position in the Galra fleet.  
Andrew sat in his chair, focusing as he tried not to lose control again. His breath was quick, and he struggled to keep focus. He was fighting his own battle.  
And with a slow few breathes, it was over. He closed his eyes and concentrated.  
***  
“Alright paladins, remember this Admiral is supposedly the best in the Zarcon’s fleet, so be careful,” Said shouted as he entered the black lion.  
“Oh, he is. My father spoke proudly of him,” Lotor replied  
Lanced laughed. “Don’t worry. It’s just another Galra coocoo. This’ll be over faster than a- well something that’s over pretty quick.”  
The castle of lions came out of warp onto the city. Behind it, seventeen Galra warships, painted yellow.  
Allura gasped. “That’s an Altean city. Look at the particle barrier, and those cannons.” One Galra warship was outside the shield, the other was inside.  
“Yeah, look at those Galra warships too,” Hunk retorted.  
“I will Send my fighters in to weaken the shield, and order two warships to attack each mine. Then you must destroy those warships,” Lotor said.  
And in a moment, the Galra Warships spewed out hundreds of fighters, each racing towards the city.  
***  
“Admiral the fighter are in range,” an officer stated. Andrew stood with his hands on two altean control consoles, staring intently at the hologram of the battlefield.  
The room was silent, sweat trickled down the officer’s spine as he waited for the Admiral’s signal.  
More silence.  
“Now.”  
The officer pressed a button on the console.  
***  
The paladins stared in shock as the minefield exploded, the hundreds of fighters disintegrating. Debris falling to the now scorched ground.  
***  
The Admiral smiled at the small victory.  
“Now launch fighters, and order our shield to open holes for the fighters as well as holes for the cannons.  
***  
Lotor barely had time to react before a warship to his right was obliterated by cannon fire, crashing slowly to the ground. Dozens of fighters in strange formations zig zagged across the field, making their way towards the enemy.  
The warship outside the shield, began to move towards a mine, attempting to block off the other two coalition warships, which were being torn apart by the mine’s hidden defenses. The Admiral had a ring of Galra cannons lined inside the circular rock wall of the mine.  
***  
The battle wasn’t going well.  
***  
Andrew smiled, watching the enemy being torn apart. Then, one by one, the Galra fighters were being destroyed, and Andrew’s smile quickly vanished. The five lions were giving covering fire to more coalition fighter craft, which zoomed towards the shield.  
“Sir shall I order the cannons to target the fighters,” another officer asked, the heat of the battle had taken its toll on her as her voice was frantic.  
“No.”  
“What?”  
“Order the cannons inside the city to stop firing, and order the shield crew to divert more power to the, well shield.”  
Pidge examined the city, her lion running a diagnostics sweep. She gasped.  
“Why did they stop firing at us,” Hunk asked, crunching down on two Galra fighters.  
I don’t know but it’s the perfect opportunity to attack the shield. Hit it with everything we’ve got,” Shiro ordered.  
Andrew stood as the enemy was right over them, firing down on the shield like orbital bombardment. He stood, the consoles shaking slightly.  
Once the attack faded, Andrew turned to the Officer. “Now fire cannons on the rest fighter craft, and order all remaining Galra ships to attack the Warships.”  
Slowly holes in the shield opened as cannon fire filled there place.  
One explosion after the other as more Coalition ships exploded in the air.  
Lance’s lion was hit twice. “We can’t take much more of this.”  
“You won’t have to, my warships are in firing position,” Lotor replied, “All ships fir-”  
Lotor was cut off as the Admiral’s fighters smashed into the warships, the shield's being overloaded as explosions of smoldering pillars of smoke crippled the row of capital ships.  
“Sir we can’t-” The commander’s hologram faded as the bridge exploded, crashing to the ground.  
Lotor looked over at an officer. “Damage report.”  
“We’ve lost ten warships, and only have six squadrons of fighters.”  
Lotor thought hard, staring at the battlefield that was now a graveyard of ships.  
“Paladins, I’m pulling my forces back. We can’t take much more of this.”  
“Sir. SIR,” the communications lieutenant came running in.  
“What is it?”  
“It-it’s a message from the Admiral.”  
“Prince Lotor. I recognized you're flagship when you first arrived on this planet,” He said, his voice was cold, and gave a chill to the room.  
Lotor grimaced. “Admiral. I must admit I’ve heard much about you.”  
The Admiral chuckled. “And what do you think so far.”  
Lotor thought for a moment. “I’m surprised. We all know the rumors, so why not show your face still.”  
“I wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise, Emperor, but that won’t stop me from defeating you,” he turned his head to someone off screen, “Now dusk has arrived.”  
Lotor wondered what that meant.  
From behind the line of Lotor’s fleet, the Dusk uncloaked, turned sideways, it’s cannons facing the engines of the fleet.  
“Fire.”  
The paladins had formed voltron, but was driven to the ground as the cannons pounded on them, it’s shield blocking the laser fire.  
“Princess,” Coran shouted over the intercom, “We have to retreat.”  
“No we must keep fighting.”  
Lance chimed in. “Coran’s right, we need to leave while we still can.”  
“Shiro. I can predict when the shield will close or open, but we need to attack now or we’ll never get this chance again,” Pidge exclaimed.  
Lotor grunted over the headsets. “My fleet is being obliterated, we have to leave now!”  
“No. we’ve already lost so much, we must press the attack,” Allura replied.  
Lance blasted three enemy fighters shooting at Voltron. “We’ll lose so much more if we don’t get out of here. Shiro make the call already.”  
“Lance is right. Lotor, Coran get us out of here.”  
***  
Andrew stared out the bridge, personally watching as voltron separated, and scattered. That formation, he thought.  
“Officer order the Dusk to cloak and reinforce the Dawn. And get me all information on the Paladins of Voltron, I’ll be in my room,” he Admiral ordered, walking to the lift, his assistant following him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed Chapter two. There will be more to come, but until then, prepare yourself, things are going to get crazy.


	3. The Start of the End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lotor Returns to Galra Headquarters with his fleet in ruins. He and the Paladins must face a different battle, maintaining peace with the regional representatives. The Admiral's master plan is ready.

Chapter 3  
The Galra headquarters, the size of large asteroid, hovered over the fleet of its warships. It sat in orbit around two planets which had smashed into each other, creating a ring of debris around a now larger planet.   
Lotor emerged from warp, with only a third of his fleet remaining barely intact. Each ship was damaged to some degree, with one warship being torn apart through the warp, pieces of it flying outwards.  
The Altean castle shot of a separate wormhole, slowly moving towards the command ship. The paladins sat in the lounge, taking a break from the battle. Tired and exhausted.  
***  
The second in command of the Eclipse walked into the admiral’s chambers. The admiral sat on the floor meditating, his hands in his lap and eyes closed.  
“Have we arrived yet,” he asked, his voice relaxed and smooth.  
“Almost sir, I came to inform you that the Galra warships Constellation and Solan have arrived right behind us. Project meteor is farther back in the warp as you requested.”  
“Excellent. This attack will need to be timed perfectly, I will be on the bridge shortly. That will be all, return to the Eclipse and wait for us to arrive before attacking,” Andrew replied, the commander saluted and left.  
Andrew stood up, he had Luck take a small break while he meditated.  
A shadow appeared behind him, a misty cloud. “Your welcome.”  
Andrew rolled his eyes. “For what, coming up the plan and bringing an end to the coalition, which I never wanted to be apart of.”  
The figure laughed. “Yes you did. I’m simply the manifestation of your greed and ambition. I’m glad that the experiments didn’t work. It’s more fun to break you in than to easily win.”  
“I’m in control. Not you,” He screamed, but the figure was gone, leaving him alone to the darkness of the room.  
He sighed, putting on his uniform, he walked out of the door, heading for the bridge.  
***  
The paladins sat with Lotor and the coalition leaders in the dining room of the command center. It was the only room that was saved from the Galra home world. Every Emperor to ever rule once sat at this long table.  
“How could the Galra defeat us. We had the advantage in every way,” a strange alien stated, smashing his tentacle fist onto the table. The paladins just sat there, being not much of politicians.  
Lotor stared at the table. “Their leader, is a fleet Admiral, and Zarcon’s prefered second in command of the empire.”  
The room went silent, a few gasps, and whispers. Allura stared at each of the leaders, before standing up.  
“We’ve all come from different backgrounds and stories. Each of us have fought battles much harder than this. Zarcon’s Empire is gone, his own armies are fighting each other as we speak, and-”  
“No.” Lotor looked up, “All Galra activity has been quiet recently. Very quiet, and we believe they are preparing for a desperate, last ditch attack.”  
More whispers, and more panic filled the room. Allura had been forced to sit down.   
“If this Galra Admiral has the power to defeat an entire fleet with just three Warships, what chance would we have if they attacked a capital world,” a representative asked.  
“I agree. Whoever this Admiral is. He has most likely united the many Galra factions, and is preparing to destroy us as we speak.”  
“Yeah.”  
“Agreed.”  
The representatives of the many planets had begun to give up, the hopelessness of the situation filled the room like quicksand, pulling more and more victims under.  
“We must be brave,” Allura stood back up, “Whoever this Admiral is, he won’t win. Voltron will be there to protect the universe.”  
All eyes on the room turned to Allura.   
“When the Admiral attacks, we, the free coalition, will strike away this tyranny and free the galaxy once and for all, but we need your help. You can’t give into fear.”  
There was a sudden laughter, almost mocking the Princess as she spun around. A Galra drone clanked forward.  
“Tyranny? You believe what I am doing is tyranny? As though I am as greedy and lustful as Zarcon. No, I am providing security and prosperity to the new citizens of the fourth empire.”  
There was gasps. The two soldiers next to the reprogrammed droid prepared to destroy it.  
“Wait,” Allura shouted. She walked up to the droid, it stared down at her, it sensor a menacing, bright orange.  
“So your the Admiral?”  
“Yes. I served under Zarcon for many decades, grew from his vast knowledge of the galaxy.”  
“You speak of prosperity, yet the master you served under destroyed Altea, and enslaved a galaxy.”  
“Yes. You however, with your rebellion are not capable to lead a galaxy. If you strike me down, cities will crumble. Enemies beyond our stars will destroy everything. I know more than anyone what really happened to Zarcon. He died many centuries ago princess. His body was a puppet of the corrupted quintessence, unbalanced, like you.”  
Shiro had had enough of the bickering. “Why are you here.”  
The sentries head twisted towards the black paladin. “Simple, I have a question. How can voltron protect more than one area at a time?” The sentry suddenly crumpled to the floor.  
Everyone stared at each other nervously. What did he mean by that?  
An officer rushed into the meeting. “My emperor, the Admiral’s fleet is attacking six separate sectors.”  
“How many targets,” Lotor asked, walking towards the officer in a hushed voice to try and not panic the guests.  
“Three Galra warships for each planet. Complete with an invasion force.”  
The politicians gasped. “This must be the final attack.”  
Lotor looked at the crumpled up sentry. “Paladins, I believe the Admiral overlooked a part of his plan. The best thing to do is to split up. Each lion will go to destroy the fleets.”  
“We’re on it.”  
***  
Andrew smiled as he watched as the castle of lions warped to attack the fleets. They needed to act quickly before they discovered the decoys.  
He stood on the center of a dome shaped bridge. It wasn’t like the on any of the Galra warships, with the top of the dome made of glass. Dozens of Galra technicians sat at separate consoles, surrounded by sentries.  
Luck sat beside Andrew, still in shock by what Project Meteor really was.  
Andrew smiled. “Are you impressed?”  
“Very much sir,” she replied, unable to help a smile as she said so.  
“Good let us hope the enemy is as impressed as you. Warships Dawn, Dusk, Eclipse, Constellation, and Solan. Today, the Fourth Empire rises. Voltron has fallen for the bait, and soon we will have captured the red lion and   
render Voltron useless. Until then, begin Protocol Dipper.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are still many more chapters to come. If you noticed any spelling or grammar mistakes, my bad. Sometimes my computer autocorrects or I'm not paying attention. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I appreciate any criticism you have to give. Thanks!


	4. Victory and Destruction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Admiral Pipes begins his siege of the galaxy, with protocol Dipper in full effect nothing can stand in his way. Voltron has fallen for the trap, and has paid dearly for it.

Lotor was frozen in place, staring out at a fleet of Galra warships, and in the middle, a monster.  
“My emperor. We’ve analyzed the enemy fleet and have confirmed it’s the Admiral.”  
Lotor looked over at the still cumbled sentry that was being cleaned up.  
“He lied to us,” still staring at the fleet. “What is that thing in the middle of the fleet.”  
“A Weblum sir.”  
The blue creature loomed over the warships, letting out a wail as its mouth slowly opened, on top of it, a small Galran city, with black, purple skyscrapers, cannons, and a small meteor ring floating above it.  
“Sir we must leave, they seem to have control of the Weblum’s defensive system.”  
Lotor, slowly walked away from the window. “We must attack, order the fleet to-”  
He was cut off as a deafening noise blasted through space itself, shredding his fleet into confete.  
“We we must leave now.”  
Lotor just kept staring.  
“My Emperor please. I beg you.” The beast began slowly turning towards Galra headquarters.  
“Yes. We must leave,” Lotor replied, running toward the lifts. The doors opened, and quickly dropped to the hangar. He reached and pushed a button on his suit as they waited.  
His voice echoed through the headquarters. “All forces of the Empire. Evacuate immediately. This is not a drill.”  
The lift came to a stop a minute later, Lotor and his guards rushing towards his personal ship in the hangar. Hundred of soldiers and officers ran wildly to any ship they could find.  
***  
“Fire.”  
***  
The green lion blasted out of the warp, charging the two warships. Pidge fired her laser, and waited for it to blast through the ship.  
But it never did. It went through the ship. The hologram fading away, leaving the green lion alone in space, more than confused.  
“Paladins,” Shiro’s voice cut into the cloudy confusion, “the Galra fleet I attacked just vanished.”  
“I thought I was the only one,” Hunk replied.  
“Why would the Admiral want to split us up and yet not attack us,” Allura asked, zooming past the purple planet below.  
Pidge stared out the window, then gasped. “Where’s Lance.”  
***  
The tractor beam brought the crippled red lion into the hangar. Lance, slumped over the controls as the lion entered the darkness of the hangar.  
***  
Lance gasped awake, pulling against the restraints he was strapped in. He was in a large circular room with windows on the wall. He sat at a large table, and strange decorations filled the room, plus very old earth music played quietly. Lance was confused, still in his paladin armor, but his helmet was missing.  
Lance could see they were in hyperspeed at the moment. The elevator at the other end of the room opened, Lance quickly looking up. A tall Galra commander, by the looks of his uniform, walked in.  
Lance grunted. “You’re not going to win. Every ship and freighter is looking for you, and when I get out of here, I’ll-”  
The commander simply held up his hand, the shock collar on Lance’s neck buzzed, shutting him up a jolt of electricity blasted through his spinal cord.  
“If you want to make threats, at least wait until the Admiral arrives,” he replied, swiftly walking back to the elevator. He stood to the side and saluted as the elevator opened again.  
The music changed to a different song as this time, a shadowed figure emerged from the elevator. He walked into the light.  
“You're the Admiral,” Lance gasped.  
Andrew smiled. “Guilty, and you are the paladin of the red lion. But why is your armor blue. Perhaps you were the paladin of the blue lion before, or maybe-”  
“You're human. Why are you working for Zarcon. He’s dead, and you still enslave planets. Are you a hologram? Maybe you're a prisoner too, and are being forced to-”  
Andrew slammed his fist on the table. “I am Admiral Pipe, second in command to Zarcon’s navy, for obvious reasons.”  
“How?”  
“You paladins weren’t the only humans to have ever been in deep space. I was in a similar space program when I was your age, but on my third mission to jupiter, I was tractor beamed by this very ship. I was tested on and made stronger, more intelligent. I am special, unlike my comrades.”  
Lance was still in shock. Unable to make any smart comeback.  
“You must be wondering why you're here, and I’ll get straight to the point. I want you to lower the red lion’s shields.”  
Lance laughed. “If you think I’m just going to let you walk all over the red lion, you’ve got another thing coming. Besides, I’m the only person in the galaxy who can fly it. And I’ll never do that.”  
“Oh you misunderstand, Lance. I don’t want to fly the red lion. I want to destroy it,” The Admiral replied coldly.  
“Wait, how do you know my name?”  
“I know much more than just your name, Lance Mcclain, born in Cuba, with various siblings including Marco, Luis, Veronica.”  
Lance pulled forward on the restraints. “They got nothing to do with this. How do you know that.”  
“The green paladin’s father, we intercepted him and let him, well escape after we downloaded the ship’s files.”  
“What do you want.” there were nearly tears in his eyes. Nearly.  
“I want you to make a tough choice, but first I would like to show you something.”  
The admiral pressed a button on the table, and video of the Weblum’s attack on lotor’s army replayed twice, Lance still in shock when the video ended.  
“You destroyed, everything.”  
“Yes, so nobody will be coming to the rescue. Shiro will have to choose between you, or saving all the distress beacons from the debris field. And we both know the choices he’ll have to make.”  
Lance was terrified, but refused to show it. “How long how you’ve been coming up with this plan.”  
“Shut up. You don’t get to be brave, and you know why.”  
“That’s why I’m here isn’t it,” Lance replied.  
Andrew smiled. “Let down the shield's to the red lion, or I’ll destroy Earth.”  
Right on cue, the ship came out of hyperspace, and the windows revealed the bright blue oceans of Earth, the green forest, clouds hovering over brightly lit cities that stretched over the horizon. And suddenly the song played in the background made sense.  
Way Back Home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to say that I had chapters 1-4 written before season six of Voltron, so I in no way copied the idea of Voltron returning to Earth. But I guess anyone could've predicted that. Chapter 5-9 I haven't written yet. Thank you for reading you're all amazing.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first piece that I am posting. There are some grammar and spelling mistakes that will be fixed. I hope you enjoy. P.S. it's going to have a ending to die for.


End file.
